Flextronics Q4 beats expectations

CarolynPritchard

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - Flextronics International posted fourth-quarter results late Tuesday that came in above analysts' expectations, buoyed by demand for headsets and other consumer products.

Flextronics
FLEX, -0.04%
said that its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $16 million, or 3 cents a share, from $19.5 million, or 4 cents a share, the year before.

Sales, however, rose to $3.77 billion from $3.06 billion, beating the $3.55 billion forecast of analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

Excluding one-time items, the contract electronics manufacturer said it made 13 cents a share vs. 5 cents a share, above the average 11-cent per-share analyst forecast.

Singapore-based Flextronics raised its first-quarter sales forecast by about $150 million, and upped its pro forma earnings per share expectation by 2 cents.

Analysts are currently looking for a per-share profit of 12 cents on sales of $3.72 billion.

The company said it expects to exceed current First Call expectations for the second, third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2005 as well. The company expects to exceed the existing First Call estimates by approximately $100 million in sales per quarter and a penny in pro forma earnings per share for each quarter.

For the year, this represents an annual increase in expectations of $450 million in sales and 5 cents a share in pro forma earnings per share.

Flextronics also said that it plans to convert all of the outstanding zero percent Convertible Junior Subordinated Notes issued March 2003 into roughly 19 million shares of common stock.

The company said the conversion would not affect its diluted earnings per share.

Flextronics said it expects net earnings to come in about 2 cents a share below pro forma results due to amortization charges.

Flextronics stock rose 3 cents to end the regular trading session at $18.46.

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